The internet has made it easier for musicians to release their own music. Big labels aren’t a necessity. All you really need is a passion for your craft and support from your fans. Collide is fortunate enough to have both. The LA-based musical team of Statik and kaRIN have put out their own albums for years; however, this time they did something different. They launched a kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds for their latest release Bent and Broken and their fans generously gave their support.

In the musical world one way to enhance a great song is by remixing it. Bent and Broken is a double remix album containing tracks from the electro-tech duo’s prior releases Counting to Zero and Two Headed Monster. Fans from across the globe submitted their remixes for consideration and seasoned vets—including cEvin Key/Ken “HiWatt” Marshall (Skinny Puppy), Chris Vrenna (Tweaker) and Shikhee (Android Lust)—also lent their talents to this sonically stimulating release.

The songs that comprise the first CD (Bent) are a luxurious mixture of atmospherics, rich electronic soundscapes, hypnotic synths, and kaRIN’s sensual vocals. Disc two (Broken) veers into club friendly territory presenting an exotic mix of darkwave and synthcore madness.

Another way to enhance a greattune is by putting your own spin on it and kaRIN and Statik did just that. kaRIN’s sultry vocals give new life to “Orgy” (by Robert Smith’s The Glove project) andtheir take on Queen’s “She Makes Me” would make Freddie Mercury proud. Of course these two creative geniuses had to give their fans an extra special treat – a new tune titled “Bent and Broken,” which finds the unit further expanding the edges of their sound.

Bent And Broken is a stellar release in which Collide manages to create their own audio universe with a little help from their friends. The remixes retain the band’s signature stamp while elevating the songs to a new sonic plane. Fans will be pleased and darkly-inclined music lovers will have a new group to add to their repertoire.

NIN

Fear.net

"The first half Bent kicks off with some of its most impressive tracks, beginning with an ominous, throbbing remix of "Mind Games" from Counting to Zero (which is an excellent single in its original form) by cEvin Key and Skinny Puppy collaborator Ken “HiWatt” Marshall; "Orgy,” an eerie, serpentine cover of a tune originally created by Cure frontman Robert Smith for his side project The Glove, featuring some of kaRIN's best vocal work; and an ultra-cool cosmic cover of Queen's "She Makes Me,” based on a solid foundation of acoustic guitar and now one of my all-time Collide faves. Another standout is the title track, which appears here for the first time, and pulses with the same dark energy of the opening cut, but with a lighter, more inquisitive touch..."

Glasswerk

"...The sound is expansive and full of beauty and resonates long after...It’s pure reveling in the material making it as loud and bombastic as it can get."

"Across the board it’s pretty much top notch production value. Bent and Broken will make Collide fans go back and excavate and re-evaluate previous works in their original incarnation to discover what seeds are there that caught the remixers’ ear in the first place. Very much recommended."

Veteran musicians- kaRIN and Statik have done it again with their prolific, top notch, Industrial/ethereal/goth music. TODAY is the day...new release date for Bent and Broken and it's a double cd set!! kaRIN's vocals are breathier and true magick as well as Statik's programming of beats and gem noize!

This double for your pleasure release is oh so yummy with remixes of some of their greats - remixes by Statik, cEvin Key, Shades of Red and many more contributors. This is a get on your blasters and outer space suits and fire up this release kind of goodness that Collide keeps evolving with each release!

While some listeners consider a remix something akin to filmmaker George Lucas going back to the well and bastardizing the source material, there are a lot of music remixes that surpass the original songs in surprising ways. Most of my favourite musicians are not afraid to tinker around with their source material after it's been released. These same musicians often take more time crafting their remixes, putting additional effort into making the restructured songs something that is different enough from the original version to merit release without making the song sound trite or too diluted.

At almost twenty years into their musical partnership, both kaRIN and Statik of the California based duo Collide are certainly no strangers to the studio. Together they have put out numerous releases, remixes, and side projects that span many musical genres, with most of their material appealing to fans of both electronic and darkwave. Their latest release, Bent and Broken, is a double CD of b-sides, covers, a new studio track and numerous remixes of material from their past two studio efforts, Counting To Zero and Two Headed Monster.

There are numerous moments to highlight on Bent and Broken, two ethereal interpretations of 'Tears like Rain' rank amongst my favourites. The dark and moody remix of 'In The Frequency' by Tweaker's Chris Vrenna is also high on the list. There is a clever cover of 'Orgy' from the Robert Smith side project The Glove that is well worth a listen. And, of course, the wicked 'Mind Games' remix by cEvin Key and Ken Marshall of SKINNY PUPPY is sure to please fans of the genre.

The title track, 'Bent and Broken', is a new studio song from Collide, and the track is a standout from these two discs of material. There is an interesting interpretation of 'She Makes Me' by Queen that is worth a listen. And 'kaRIN, You're Not Yourself Today' sounds more like something the Art Of Noise might have left on their studio floor, complete with odd vocals and notes that sound like they are comprised of digitized and programmed keyboard vocals.

Bent and Broken is available from the band’s website (and self-managed label) in both physical and digital formats. The 2 CD compilations will please fans both new and old. Collide remain a very stoic force in the independent music scene. They keep an interesting and eclectic mix of company, many of whom have contributed their skills to the remixed material on this new release. Do take the time to check out this compilation of 26 new tracks. - See more at: http://www.lithiummagazine.com/collide-bent-and-broken-album-review#sthash.Id3wEbtn.dpuf

Style: November 2012Wide-ranging gritty electronica and seductive/ethereal female vocals.Bent and Broken sees Collide back in collaborative mode building upon the powerful approach taken on their 2004 release Vortex. The tracks here include a new song (the title-track Bent and Broken), two steeply twisted covers (Robert Smith's Orgy from his Glove project and Queen's She Makes Me) and freely adventurous remixes of earlier Collide material both from Collide themselves and multifarious guest musicians/producers. Following an online remix contest a dazzling array of contributors were chosen to provide content for Bent and Broken - big names as well as less familiar artists: Vrenna, cEvin Key, Android Lust, Katarrhaktes, Tom Gipson, Alyssa Finnivan, Antigen5, iNGRUO, Matt Gatsos and The Black Sheep Project, Psych-Nein, DJO2, LgVela, Synkraft, Diffuzion, DJ Forensic and Whitney Kew... The unity of Bent and Broken is quite a coup considering the diversity of the styles encountered - gutsy, plastic, digital mangling; harsh industrial electronica juxtaposed with synth washes and feminine vocal expressions; dreamy gothic nocturnes and fractured cyber-lullabies. Bent and Broken is perhaps the ideal introduction for anyone not yet familiar with Collide.

Artwork: Since my version is an electronic download I can't comment on the physical packaging of Bent and Broken except to say that Collide generally produce high-quality materials with a loving personal touch throughout. Cover art here is of a consistent metallic grey-blue hue - shot through with glass-mirror-cracks, jagged razor-edged, liquid smooth or soft-focus blurred. Sharp portrait shots of kaRIN and Statik intersperse with recording information and track details. As is appropriate given the collaborative nature and Kickstarter funding approach to this release a generous thanks section concludes the booklet.

Overall: Bent and Broken is the latest release from the proudly unshackled independent band Collide. This two CD package contains twenty-six tracks and in excess of a hundred and thirty minutes of music sprawling across a broad range of associated genres. The project is funded almost entirely from Kickstarter contributions so that fans have been provided with a sense of involvement right from the start. Those who donated $10.00 or more to the Kickstarter page received a digital download of the album a week in advance. The band also have a generous policy of giving away interesting items with their releases: autographed CDs, a Collide necklace, a signed drum head. The album can be downloaded from the band's official website where it can also be purchased in CD format along with a range of associated Collide ephemera - not least a special limited edition black metal aluminium USB drive, laser etched with the Collide symbol and preloaded with the album, and artwork. Tracks from Bent and Broken can also be sampled via the official release page.

The graceful duo Statik and kaRIN better known as Collide is an established project of the electro-wave scene. The band can look back on an impressive number of high quality releases, which they’ve mainly released on their own label Noiseplus Music. “Bent And Broken” is not a new album, but a kind of little pleasure to enjoy themselves and the Collide fan basis.

We get an impressive number of remixes from songs that were released on the albums “Two Headed Monster” and “Counting To Zero”. We next get a few interesting covers and the new song “Bent And Broken”.

“Bent And Broken” unfortunately is not the kind of song that caught my attention. It sounds sweet and delicate, but without the typical Collide-magic. I next was wondering how the cover versions would sound. “Orgy” was originally written by Robert Smith and Steven Severin for The Glove. The cover version by Collide has a delicate sensual touch mixed with Eastern sound influences and is not bad at all. The other cover version is a rather surprising choice. We here get a cover of Queen’s “She Makes Me”, which is quite noticeable for the evasive, ethereal vocals of the angelic kaRIN.

Over now to the remixes on the 1st disc. There are several remarkable and even outstanding pieces. The remix of “Mind Games” by Skinny Puppy’s cEvin Key and Ken Marshall is a slow opener, but with deep resonating vibes and again the essential, sensual vocals of kaRIN. The “Great Apes Mix” of “In The Frequency” is more into solid guitar riffs, showing a real transposition of the original song. The Black Sheep also did a good job with the remix of “Pure Bliss”. It’s a kind of ghost-like version with a great progression. But the best remix is the one by Statik himself! He deserves the award of best remix on this disc for “Mind Games”. It sounds pretty industrial-dub like while I also like a kind of scratching sound treatment. Statik contributed to some other remixes as well and in the end it all becomes clear that you can’t be better served than by yourself!

The debut part of the 2nd disc is astonishing! Psych-Nein did an impressive job on “Tears Like Rain” while Chris Vrenna shows all his composing and remixing skills on “In The frequency”. DJO2 and his “Oxidized”-remix of “Chaotic” is a hard interpretation with bewitching rhythms. The brutal and hard sounding “Clearer” remixed by Synkraft is another attention grabber. But the absolute masterpiece was made by LgVela and the “LgVela Dance Mix” of “Head Spin”. This is pure dancefloor food made of beating bass drums and sexy vocals. This is pure lust!

Let’s stay on the dancefloor with some technoid vibes made by Vinnie Saletto featuring DJ Forensic on the remix of “Pure Bliss”. Synkraft again did another great remix. “Chaotic” is another heavy piece of music.

It all becomes clear that this is an album meant to please the fans, but I think it is also a way for Collide to revisit some songs from the past few years. It’s an interesting and meaningful album.

Listening to electro duo Collide is a little like walking by the ocean; a quiet, calming ocean. But as with that aquatic environment, beneath the surface, there are currents to pull you in unexpected directions, rips to take you deeper. And that is what the mammoth remix double album Bent and Broken (Noiseplus), kindly downloaded to me by the band, has explored, tagging the essence and developing the core of the music to take it further. So not just those calming rhythms, but the crash and foam as well.

Prime example is ‘Chaotic’, from the 2008 album Two Headed Monster, itself a rollicking, infectious tune. There are three versions on Bent and Broken — one mesmerising with strings, another yet more chaotic with electro pop and whizz, the third even further ramped up with the fuzz into a dancefloor firecracker.

There are also three versions of ‘In the Frequency’, making it equal favourite for remixing, and two of four others. All up, there are 26 tracks split 15/11 on Bent and Broken, mostly reimagining Two Headed Monster and last year’s Counting to Zero (reviewed here): two hours of largely dreamy soundscape. There is also a sprinkling of new material: ‘Orgy’, a worthy cover of a The Glove song that makes the most of kaRIN’s understated snarl; straight-up Collide-style ‘Bent and Broken’, and a cinematic cover of Queen’s ‘She Makes Me’ featuring acoustic guitar.

Matched with Statik’s musical chops — this album’s production rewards listening through headphones — kaRIN’s vocals are one of Collide’s assets: distinctive, seductive, malleable, swinging from seductive to ominous to pacific.

So I probably could’ve done without the fast-forward/rewind whimsy of ‘kaRIN, You’re Not Yourself Today’, but it’s a single blip on an otherwise smooth journey.

A highlight is dreamy ‘Lucky 13 (Damaged mix)’, ramped up with industrial stylings that provide a darker, almost ironic cast. It doesn’t surprise it comes courtesy of Android Lust, whose next album is being Kickstarted towards completion.

‘Tears Like Rain (Cloudburst mix)’, such an awesome line from the movie Blade Runner, here drops the pace into maudlin territory, gentle keys creating the soft pitter patter of hopes and dreams slowly melting; the Psych-Nein mix transports ‘Tears Like Rain’ into a casbah discotechque.

‘Clearer (Serrated Edge mix)’ is smoother than the name suggests, but has one of the heavier beats and widest ranges, from an almost industrial attack to minimal electronic hand claps.